After weeks of talk, former Washington Redskins quarterback and ESPN Monday Night football analyst Joe Theismann officially sealed the deal to become part-owner of the Florida Tuskers and was named president of the UFL franchise.

“I am excited about the opportunity and I am excited about the league,” Theismann said via press release. “This is a venture that I can take from the ground up in a beautiful place in Orlando. I wanted the Orlando-based franchise. I feel like it’s a great place for football fans. This is an opportunity to be a part of a football organization run the way I’d like to see it run.”

The financial details were not made public, but UFL commissioner Michael Huyghuetold me recently the cost of the Tuskers franchise is $20 million this season and will jump to $30 million next season.

Theismann will lead the charge to find other local investors to buy into the Florida Tuskers franchise.

Former NFL quarterback Daunte Culpepper, left, flexes his muscles after putting on a jersey of the United Football Leagues's Sacramento Mountain Lions at a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, June 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

I admit it. I was wrong.

Back in May, I wrote a blog questioning why former UCF quarterback Daunte Culpepper chose the UFL over retirement with his NFL career on the decline.

Apparently, the payoff for an UFL quarterback isn’t so bad. All six franchise players, including former Pro Bowl quarterback Jeff Garcia, make $200,000 and the average player makes $55,000 for the eight-game season according to UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue.

The second season of the UFL has seen growth in the talent level of its athletes. Each team has an average of 24 former NFL players and attendance has grown from an average of 9,678 to 16,638 fans according to USA Today.

But there are bigger opportunities Huyghue is looking to create within the UFL. He wants to put more retired athletes in the front office and specifically give them opportunities to own teams.

Though no formal announcement has been made yet, retired Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann told the Orlando Sentinel earlier this week he was close to signing an ownership deal with the Florida Tuskers. The Tuskers are worth $20 million this year and will raise to $30 million next season Huyghue said.

“One of my biggest complaints when I was at the NFL was I didn’t think we did a good enough job of going after our former players and putting them in front office positions,” said Huyghue, a former Vice President for the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Huyghue first hired former Super Bowl XXII MVP quarterback Doug Williams to work for the Jaguars before Williams joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ front office in 2004. Williams signed on to become a general managerfor one of the UFL’s newest expansion teams in Norfolk, Virginia.

“We’re innovative, we’re new,” Huyghue said. “We can try things like that and give opportunities to people that otherwise might not get that chance.”

United Football League commissioner Michael Huyghue introduces Florida Tuskers' new coach Jay Gruden during a press conference at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Tuesday, February 9, 2010. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue is offering one lucky fan the opportunity to sit in board room meetings for an entire day. Great fun, I know.

“The winner will attend meetings, conference in on important calls and make a decision that will actually effect the outcome of the league. I have to warn you, our days are very long and are packed full with meetings, so you had better bring your A-game,” Michael Huyghue said.